Windows XP - Change the font displayed in Windows Explorer

Introduction

Windows XP uses the same font for desktop icons and Windows Explorer: Tahoma, 8 point. If the font is too hard to read, you can change its size or the font itself with a few mouse clicks. If you want to change the font or font size used in Windows Explorer, here's how ...

Steps
(3 total)

1

Getting there ...

Access the Display Properties dialog box by right-clicking the desktop and selecting the Properties command.

Select the Appearance tab and click the Advanced button.

Select Icon from the Item drop-down list.

2

Select new font

Use the Font drop-down arrow to select a font from the list.

3

Getting back ...

Click OK twice. Once to close the Advanced Appearance dialog box and once to close the Display Properties dialog box.

Conclusion

You can see the new font by launching Windows Explorer or My Computer. If you don't like what you see, repeat the steps and select a different font. This should work for both Windows XP Home and Professional.

I hope this helps!
David

1 Comment

Thanks for posting this. I googled to find the settings, but kept coming up with only links about changing system fonts and icon sizes. Then I remembered the Spiceworks community and had my answer show up as the first link on the first page of results. I haven't played around with those settings since the earliest days of Windows (and I'm still young enough that my eyes haven't forced me to find them in the intervening years).